Positive drive chain saw attachment



Das. H, W66 B. J. VARDEN lym? PosTTTvE DRIVE CHAIN sAw ATTACHMENT FiledFeb. 26, 1964 2 sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 13, 1966 B. J. VARDEN 3,291,16?

POSITIVE DRIVE CHAIN SAW ATTACHMENT INVENTOR. 2% BYz'ZZze .I/deze MWA.YD

United States Patent 3,291,167 POSITIVE DRIVE CHAIN SAW ATTACHMENTBillie J. Varden, P.0. Box 43, Calera, Ala. Filed Feb. 26, 1964, Ser.No. 347,412 10 Claims. (Cl. 143-32) This invention relates to sawattachments for a portable -chain saw power unitt of conventionalconstruction. More specifically, the invention :provides aground-supported chain saw attachment having positive drive meanstherein for operating 'a lcom/entional chain saw in a variety ofselective positions for the purposes of brush and stump cutting, logbucking and hedge trimming.

Other devices intended 'for the above indicated uses have been. proposedin the past, but all of them have serious shortcomings. 'Some requiremodification of the power un-it employed, others require the .use ofspecial Y carts or other devices .to support the entire unit, and allrequire that the saw itself be secured in a horizontal or vertical planewithout provision for selective engagement within either plane. A stillmore serious shortcoming to the 4above devices concerns the drive meansemployed. Hydraulic ram and belt and pulley devices have been proposedfor driving a chain saw located a substantial distance away from thepower source, but employment o-f such means involves a relatively highdegree `of power loss due to a characteristic lack of residual torque insuch devices. It is imperative that power loss in such devices be heldto a minimum and that lthe amo-unt of residual torque be as high aspossible. These ends can be best accomplished by use of a positivelydriven gear train and therefore the primary object of this invention isto provide a positive drive cha-in saw attachment Ifor a portable powerunit employing gear train means for transmission of power from theIpower unit to the chain saw.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chain saw attachment fora portable power unit adapted to perm-it use of a vertically disposedchain saw, a horizontally disposed chain saw, or both, for a hedgetrimming or log bucking, `brush cuttin and hedge trimming and brushcutting, respectively. l

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a chain saw attachmentfor use with a conventional, portable chain saw power unit, soconstructed as to require a minimum of modification `of the .power unitfor use therewith.

Still another object of the invention is to lprovide a ground supportedchain saw attachment `for use with a por-table power unit, saidattachment adapted to employ -a variety of conventional chain saws.

Finally, it is an object of this Iinvention to provide a chain sawattachment for a portable power unit that can be `readily disconnectedfrom said power uni-t, said attachment being of light weight material,simple construction, and low in cost of manufacture.

These and other objects of the invention will be-come readily apparentby reference -to the following specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is -a side elevational view of the device;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the device of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 3*-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 Iis a section taken on staggered lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a partial section taken on lines 5--5 of FIGUR-E 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged partial side view taken from the lower righthand portion of FIGURE l, showing a vertical chain saw in place on theinvention;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged partial section taken on lines 7-'7 of FIGURE 2;and

FIGURE 8 is a partial plan view of the -underside of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings by reference characters, there is shown inFIGURE 1 a portable, hand manipulatable, internal combustion power uni-t1t) of Ithe type commonly used with chain saws with the invention 12,secured thereto, comprising a tubular support arm 14, saw drive housingl16, and ground supp-ort means comprising a lforked brace 18 with afreely rotating wheel 20 secured thereto. Power yunit 10 is providedwith conventional hand grips 22 and 23. Flubular support 14 is securedto unit 10 by a support flange 24, adjacent the drive shaft 26 of unit10. It may Ibe noted here that the chain saw, commonly used with theIpower unit 10, has been removed thereby exposing drive shaft 26 as wellas bolts 28 and 29, formerly used to secure a chain saw blade support tothe device. Thus flange 24 may conveniently be secured to unit 10through bolts 28 and 29 by nuts 30. Additional bracing 32 may beemployed to assure rigid attachment of ange 24.

Tubular support 14 may -be of any desired length and is angled forwardly`and downwardly of `unit i1() to saw drive housing 16 where lit isthreadably received in sleeve 34 of upper casting 36 lof housing 16(FIGURE 3). Housing 16 is formed of the upper casting 36 and a lowercasting 38. "Il-he two castings are held together by a series .of bolts40, .through outer peripheral flanges 42 and 44 of castings 36 and 38,respectively, `and nuts 46. One lpair of bolts and nuts indicated by 40aand 46a, may conveniently be employed for attaching wheel brace 18 tothe rear of housing 16. Upper casting 36 is provided with a verticalchain saw support 48 while lower casting y38 has a horizontal chain sawsupport 52, integral therewith.

The direct drive means previously referred to can be more clearlyunderstood by reference to FIGURES 1, 3, 4 and 7. Drive shaft 26 ofpower unit 10 is equipped with a protruding bevel gear 54. A matingbevel gear 56 is attached to a second rotating drive transmission 58,mounted within tubular support and riding on bearings 60 secured withinsleeve 62 of flange 24, and bearings 64 secured within sleeve 34 ofcasting 36. A pin 66 is used to maintain gear 56 in proper attitude onshaft 58. Gear 54 is held on s'haft 26 of power unit 10 in simil-armanner. If desirable, a suitable cover (not shown) may be used toenclose gears 54 and 56 by securing the same to a backing plate 68,located on sleeve 62 behind gear 54.

The lower end of shaft 58 extends into casing 36 and is equipped with athird bevel bear 70, held thereto by pin 72, as indicated in FIGURE 3.Lower casing 38 of saw drive housing 16 is provided with a horizontallydisposed plate 74 having asecond transmission shaft 76, integraltherewith. Plate 74 is rotatably positioned by bearings 7S therebeneath,while shaft 76 is held by bear- 1ngs 80 within sleeve 82, bearings 80further secured to casing 38 by retaining cover S4 with bolts 86. Bevelgear 7G, meshes with gear plate 74, thereby causing rotation oftransmission shaft 76. A sprocket wheel 88, secured to the lower end ofshaft 76 by a pin 90, is used to drive a chain saw 92 which is disposedabout wheel 88 and a horizontal chain saw blade 94, secured tohorizontal `chain saw support 52 through a spacer plate 95 by bolts 96.Preferably, chain saw 92 and blade 94 will be that saw and bladeinitially removed from the conventional position on power unit 10 aspreviously discussed.

As mentioned above, chain saw support 52 is integral with lower casing38. As shown in FIGURE 2, support 52 is in the form of an outer lowerflange with respect to 3 casing 38 and extends through substantially a180 arc, as indicated in FIGURE 8. Saw support 52 is provided with aseries of bores 98 for selectively positioning saw blade 94 thereon.Thus chain saw 92 may be mounted on housing 16 in any one of a varietyof positions within a horizontal plane.

FIGURES 3 and 4 disclose a horizontally disposed transmission shaft 100secured within housing 16 to upper casing 36, and driven by gear plate74 through bevel gear 102 positioned on a horizontal shaft 100 by pin104. Bearings 106 and 107, mounted in opposed sleeves 108 and 109,respectively, assure rotation of shaft 100. A vertical sprocket wheel110 is attached to the projecting end of shaft 100 by a pin 112.Vertical chain saw support 48 is secured to upper casing 36 inwardly ofWheel 110, as by welding or any suitable means. A vertical saw blade 113is secured to support 48 through spacer plate 114 by bolt-s 116 and nuts118. A chain saw 120 is then disposed about sprocket wheel 110 and sawblade 112. Vertical chain saw support 48 is in the form of .a flatcircular plate extending through approximately a quarter arc, asindicated in FIGURE 6 so as to allow saw blade 112 to be selectivelypositioned thereon through a plurality of bores 122.

In normal operation, horizontal chain saw 92 will be used for cuttingbrush while vertical chain saw 120 will be employed for cutting logsinto small lengths or for trimming hedges, shrubs and the like. While itis conceivable that both the horizontal and vertical saws could be usedsimultaneously, it is more practical that either one or the other beemployed alone, in which case the single chain saw and blade unit,conventionally provided with and subsequently removed from power unit10, would be mounted either vertically or horizontally on the invention.

To operate the device, it is only necessary to hold power unit 10 byhand grips 22, pushing the attached invention over the ground or, aswhen cutting logs with the vertical saw, holding the device by lockingwheel 20 and pivoting the device up and down about the axle of wheel 20.

While the specific embodiment of the invention as shown and describedherein discloses the invention as having mountings for both a horizontaland a vertical chain saw, it may be prefer-able to rearrange orotherwise modify the parts within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. For use with a portable, internal combustion power unit having gripsfor'an operator an-d a power take-off, an attachment for brush cuttingcomprising a support arm, secured to said unit adjacent said powertake-off and angled forwardly and downwardly of said unit, a chain sawdrive housing secured to said arm at the lower end thereof, a wheeledsupport for said attachment secured to said saw drive housing,lrearwardly thereof, a pair of sprocket wheels extending from said sawdrive housing, one disposed horizontally therebeneath, the otherdisposed vertically therebeside, gear train means for driving saidsprocket wheels from said power unit through said support arm and sawdrive housing, an arcuate depending skirt attached to the forward end ofsaid housing having a plurality of bores therein, an .arcuate flangesecured adjacent said vertically disposed sprocket wheel and also havinga plurality of bores therein, a horizontal chain saw holder, selectivelyengageable with said horizontal skirt as by bolts, a vertical chain sawholder selectively engageable with said arcuate flange, and at least onechain saw for mounting about said horizontal wheel and holder and aboutsaid vertical wheel and holder.

2. For use with a portable internal combustion power unit having gripsfor an operator and a power take-off, an attachment for brush cuttingcomprising a support arm, securable to said unit adjacent said powertake-off and angled forwardly and downwardly of said unit, a chain sawdrive housing secured to said arm at the lower end thereof, a wheeledground support for said attachment secured to said saw drive housing,rearwardly thereof, a horizontally disposed sprocket wheel locatedbeneath said saw drive housing, a gear train for driving said sprocketwheel from said power unit through said arm and housing, an arcuatedepending skirt having a plurality of bores therein attached to theforward end of said saw drive housing, .a horizontally disposed chainsaw holder selectively engageable with said skirt as by bolts throughsaid bores and a chain saw disposed about said sprocket wheel and saidsaw holder for horizontal cutting.

3. For use with a portable, internal combustion power unit having gripsfor an operator and a power take-off, an Iattachment for bucking logscomprising a support arm, securable to said unit adjacent said powertake-off and angled forwardly and downwardly of said unit, a chain sawdrive housing, secured to said arm at the lower end thereof, a wheeledground support for said attachment secured to said saw drive housing,rearwardly thereof, a vertically disposed sprocket wheel located on saidhousing, parallel to a plane drawn through the vertical axis of symmetryof said wheeled support, a gear train for driving said sprocket wheelfrom said power unit through said arm and housing, an arcuate verticalflange having a plurality of bores therein secured adjacent saidsprocket wheel, a chain saw holder selectively engageable with saidflange as by bolts through said bores, and a chain saw arranged aboutsaid sprocket wheel and chain saw holder for vertical cutting.

4. For use with a portable, hand manipulatable, internal combustionpower unit, a positively driven chain saw attachment comprising asupport arm, a saw drive housing adapted to operatively support twochain saws, at least one chain saw, and a wheeled support locatedrearwardly of and secured to said saw drive housing, said support armlocatable adjacent the power take-off of said power unit and angledforwardly and downwardly of said unit thereby allowing said wheeledsupport to be beneath said power unit, said saw drive housing located atthe lower end of said support arm, said chain saw disposable on saidhousing, said chain saw operable by ygear train means from said powerunit through said support arm and saw drive housing, said support armcomprises an outer tubular member and a dnive shaft locatedconcentrically therein, one end of said tubular member in threaded unionwith said power unit rigidly secured thereto,the ends of said driveshaft extending beyond the limits of said tubular member to said powertake-off `and into said saw drive housing, said drive housing comprisingan upper hollow casting for supporting a vertically disposed chain sawand having an outer peripheral flange, said upper casting having athreaded lbore adjacent said flange for receiving said tubular member,and a lower casting for supporting a horizontally disposed chain saw,having an outer, peripheral flange coincident with said upper peripheralflange and secured thereto as by bolts.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said upper casting is provided with asprocket wheel driven in a vertical plane from said gear train, avertical mounting plate adjacent said sprocket wheel, a vertical chainsaw support secured to said mounting plate and a chain saw operativelysecured on said sprocket wheel and said saw support.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein said vertical mounting plate extendsthrough an arc, from the vertical and is provided with a plurality ofbores for selectively engaging said chain saw support, as by bolts.

7. The device of claim 4 wherein said lower casting is provided with alower sprocket wheel, driven in a horizontal plane beneath said castingyfrom said gear train, a horizontal mounting plate adjacent said lowersprocket wheel, a horizontal chain saw support secured to saidhorizontal mounting plate and a chain saw operatively secured on saidlower wheel and said horizontal support.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said horizontal mounting plate extendsthrough an farc, beneath said outer, circular flange and is providedwith a plurality of bores for selectively engaging said chain sawsupport there- `around as by lbolts.

9. The device of claim `4 wherein said gear train means comprises adrive shaft having bevel 'gears at each end, secured within said support`arm and geared to said power take-off and to Ia freely rotating,horizontally mounted wheel located in said lower casting, a second bevelgear located in said upper casting, operable Iby said wheel, ahorizontal power shaft secured to said bevel ygear and to said housing,extending therethrough, a sprocket wheel mounted on the outer exposedend of said shaft for driving `a vertically mounted chain saw mounted onsaid housing.

10. The device of cl-airn 4 wherein said gear train means comprises adrive shaft rotating within said support arm, operable Iby said powertake-off, a horizontally 6 mounted gear plate within said lower casting7driven by said drive arm, and a pair of axles, powered by said `gearplate, extending through said housing `and having sprocket wheelsmounted on their exposed, outer ends, one sprocket wheel for driving ahorizontal chain saw, the other for driving 4a vertical 4chain saw, andat least 'one chain saw secured on said saw housing, adjacent one ofsaid sprocket wheels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,348,588 5/1944Aroneau. 2,645,254 7/ 1953 Van Ausdall. 2,765,822 10/ 1956 Smith.

FOREIGN PATENTS 612,981 1/1961 Canada. 93 6,606 12/ 1955 Germany.

DONALD R. SCHRAN, Primary Examiner.

1. FOR USE WITH A PORTABLE, INTERNAL COMBUSTION POWER UNIT HAVING GRIPSFOR AN OPERATOR AND A POWER TAKE-OFF, AN ATTACHMENT FOR BRUSH CUTTINGCOMPRISING A SUPPORT ARM, SECURED TO SAID UNIT ADJACENT SAID POWERTAKE-OFF AND ANGLED FORWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY OF SAID UNIT, A CHAIN SAWDRIVE HOUSING SECURED TO SAID ARM AT THE LOWER END THEREOF, A WHEELEDSUPPORT FOR SAID ATTACHMENT SECURED TO SAID SAW DRIVE HOUSING,REARWARDLY THEREOF, A PAIR OF SPROCKET WHEELS EXTENDING FROM SAID SAWDRIVE HOUSING, ONE DISPOSED HORIONTALLY THEREBENEATH, THE OTHER DISPOSEDVERTICALLY THEREBESIDE, GEAR TRAIN MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID SPROCKETWHEELS FROM SAID POWER UNIT THROUGH SAID SUPPORT ARM AND SAW DRIVEHOUSING, AN ARCUATE DEPENDING SKIRT ATTACHED TO THE FORWARD END OF SAIDHOUSING HAVING A PLURALITY OF BORES THEREIN, AN ARCUATE FLANGE SECURED